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Study: Fewer in Travis live below poverty line, but equity lacking

Thousands of Central Texas families gathered at the Palmer Events Center for the 30th annual Coats for Kids in December to provide winter clothing for needy children. A report released Thursday said the overall poverty rate in Travis County has dropped from 19 percent in 2011 to 13 percent, but the poverty rate for black and Hispanic children is five to seven times higher than the poverty rate for white and Asian children.

Story Highlights

Black residents are disproportionately overrepresented in the Travis County Jail, report finds.

More than one-third of all black and Hispanic children in Travis County live below the federal poverty level.

Even as fewer local residents live below the federal poverty line and the Travis County unemployment rate is at an all-time low, challenges stubbornly persist in making the area equitable for all residents, according to an annual report released Thursday.

The Community Advancement Network dashboard report measures 17 socioeconomic indicators that offer an overview of the social health and well-being of Austin and Travis County. For the past eight years the network — which is made up of 25 governmental, nonprofit, private and faith-based groups — has tracked the indicators to identify areas where the community can improve.

Travis County showed advancements, according to the report, in reducing the crime rate, lowering the amount of residents living below the federal poverty level and bringing down the unemployment rate to an all-time low of 3.1 percent in 2016. More people in Travis County now have health insurance, the report found, and there are fewer uninsured residents under age 65.

But the report also points to the area’s hurdles in achieving equity. Although the overall poverty rate has dropped from 19 percent in 2011 to 13 percent, there are disparities for black and Hispanic children whose poverty rate is five to seven times higher than the poverty rate for white and Asian children.

Mayor Steve Adler said this should concern all of the community. “Children are our future,” he said. “We will not have a prosperous future if we do not have the conditions and opportunities for black and Hispanic children to have a prosperous future.”

Despite a narrowing gap in high school graduation rates between students of different races and ethnicities, the report found that the gaps for college graduation rates still haven’t closed. While high school completion rates for both black and Hispanic students in 2015 were more than 80 percent, college completion rates were lower. For the high school graduating class of 2009, about 30 percent of black students and 44 percent of Hispanic students who enrolled at a Texas college completed their degree by 2015, according to the report.

A look at the community’s health revealed that, although more residents have insurance, and residents under 65 who are uninsured dropped from 21 percent in 2011 to 16 percent in 2015, black Travis County residents have higher rates of poor mental health, smoking and obesity issues.

Black residents, the report found, also are disproportionately overrepresented in the Travis County Jail. They make up 21 percent of jail bookings while they are 8 percent of the county’s adult population.

Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt said that much progress hasn’t been made in this area. “It keeps me awake at night,” she said. “It’s not only a problem in Travis County, but in all of the U.S. … That’s unacceptable.”

Once a month, the Austin Community College’s equity and inclusion office hosts meetings to “discuss and explore ways to transform systems for equity,” according to the report.

Affordable housing remains an issue in Travis County, where 36 percent of households are “cost-burdened,” which the report describes as paying more than the recommended 30 percent of total income for housing. Low-income renters are the hardest-hit group. About 83 percent of renters who make less than $35,000 a year are “cost-burdened.”

Adler said he hopes efforts such as CodeNext, an initiative to rewrite the city’s entire land use code, will allow for greater choice and affordability in housing options.

“There are uplifting aspects in this report,” Adler said. “We’ve recovered from the Great Recession … but the heartbreaking thing is that it’s real clear that the recovery is not reaching everyone.”

BY THE NUMBERS

8: Percentage of Travis County residents who are black adults.

21: Percentage of black adults booked into Travis County Jail.

42: Percentage of homeless population that is black.

13 percent: Poverty rate in Travis County.

35 percent: Poverty rate for Hispanic and black children in Travis County.

28: Percentage of low-income kindergartners who are school ready.

61: Percentage of moderate- to high-income kindergartners who are school ready.